Your First 30 Days in Real Estate: Part 1
This series of articles is for those that really want to succeed in the crazy business of real estate. Because I’m here to tell you, there’s not necessarily going to be that fast, easy money like some people think comes in real estate. It’s going to take some work. It’s going to take some time. It’s going to take some patience.
What I do have here for you go-getters is a five-step plan, just five things you need to do in your first 30 days in real estate if you want to make it. Please take out pen and paper, pull out your laptop and work a little split-screen action, or however the heck you choose to take notes – because I’m giving you real stuff that you can put into place right away. This is actionable advice on what to do as a new real estate agent or somebody that wants to restart their career, in your first 30 days in real estate.
Step 1: Check Your Mindset
The first thing that you’re going to want to do, literally as soon as you get your real estate license, is you need to work on your mindset. You need to get your mind right! What I mean by that is you’ve got to understand that it’s a certain set of skills, but also personality traits, that most successful real estate agents share. You want to learn what those traits are and start to cultivate them right away. Because I’m going to tell you: your attitude, your mindset, your drive is going to matter as much, if not more, than if I gave you some magic three steps. You know, just do this, this, and this, and you’re going to make a million dollars. Well, obviously, we would all be very successful millionaires if it was that simple. So, you’ve got to understand that when you first start in the business, you have got to get your mindset right to tackle the real thing.
It’s all about your attitude. What you need to understand is attitude and how you approach the business, how you treat yourself, how you are ultimately entering your new career in real estate matters more than anything. Let’s say, for instance, is that if you’re a new agent let’s say right out of real estate school. What we’re talking about is your business plan for your first 30 days after passing the real estate exam. It’s your first 30 days, let’s make it count!
You’re New – So What?!
You’re new, and I’m going to tell you, it doesn’t matter. One of the things I want you to understand is getting the type of phrasing out of your system now, “I don’t know what I’m doing because I’m new.” “I’m too new.” “This other agent knows more than me.” “I don’t deserve this listing because I’m really just too new.” At what point are you going to decide, okay, I’m not new anymore? Because if you keep telling yourself, “I’m new. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m new, I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m new, I don’t know what I’m doing,” the problem is, at some point, that’s going to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What I want you guys to understand is part of getting your mind right is having the confidence and believing, from day one, that you can succeed and that you are 100% capable of serving your client as their real estate agent. What I want you guys to understand is don’t assume that these other agents in the marketplace know more than you. Don’t assume that you don’t have enough information to be able to serve your client. You can kind of fake it till you make it at first, but your mindset is key. You’ve got to have the confidence to understand that you can do this.
At what point are you going to decide, okay, I’m not new anymore?
I’m Going to Fail…Wait Am I?
Think about your license exam. If you’re reading this, it’s likely you just passed your exam or you might be enrolled in a real estate class. What happens if you go into the testing center and you’re going, “I’m going to fail. I’m going to fail. I’m going to fail. I’m going to fail. I’m going to fail.” What are you going to do? You’re going to fail miserably because you’ve convinced yourself that you were going to fail! It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. You are going to literally make yourself fail that exam. It’s the type of thing that I want you guys to understand, that what you believe about yourself is what you become.
You Have to Believe
You have got to get your mind right because you work for yourself now. You’re in sales now. You just started a real estate business. If you don’t believe in you, how is anybody else going to believe in you?! Sure it’s your first 30 days in real estate but that should not be stopping you from having the confidence to get out there and do it.
How am I going to hire you to represent me if you don’t even believe that you can do it? Therefore, it is critical that you start from day one, “I can do this.” You’ve got to have the mindset that “I deserve success, I belong in this industry, and that I can do this.” What I want you to understand is if you’re new, this is your first 30 days, it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to not know what to do. It’s okay if you mess up. The idea of trying to avoid messing up or making mistakes by just hiding from it, what you guys need to understand is you’ll never get anywhere. Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody screws up. Don’t have this mindset like “I’m new, so I’m going to make mistakes and I’m going to screw up.” It’s okay if you do (legal and ethical matters aside). What you do is you learn. You either win in a particular situation, like you get that listing, or you learn from it. You never lose. You either win or you learn.
Please say it with me – it’s okay to be new. Everybody must have their first listing appointment. You’ve got to have your first contract negotiation. You’ve got to have the first client that tells you to get lost! You’ve got to have the first deal that you thought you had clear to close – only as it falls apart at the last minute. Your first commission check. Your first million dollars. Whatever it is, everybody’s got to have their first one, so don’t worry about it. You’ve got to start somewhere, so make sure you get your mindset right and you are confident and prepared for what’s coming.
You either win or you learn
I’ll say it one more time – it’s okay to be new. Ask your broker, ask your trainer, ask your coach if you don’t know what to do. Let them help you out. It’s also important that you start to remember that you are a real estate professional, you have a real estate license. Respect yourself as a professional and others will respect you, too.
Tell Yourself the Right Things
An important piece of your mental mindset is that you’ve really got to start working on your daily self-talk. How you talk to yourself is going to really matter in how you’re going to work in this business. I strongly suggest that you begin the practice of daily affirmations. Write down on a piece of paper, pen, and a pad, write down, “I am an awesome real estate agent. I can do this. I’m going to make money in real estate.” You write it down and you sell it to yourself. You repeat it. “I can do this.” Every morning, first thing in the morning. Go in the mirror. Lock the door, nobody can hear you no matter how strange you think it sounds. Read your affirmation out loud, because you are going to believe it the more you say it. Your self-talk is big. I mean, how many times do you see somebody make a mistake and they say something like, “I’m an idiot.” No, you’re not an idiot. You made a mistake. You’re a human being.
Start monitoring your attitude and your self-talk. It’s really going to matter, because real estate is sales. You’re going to get told no more than you’re going to get told yes. You can’t let that kind of stuff bother you. If I send out a marketing piece to 1,000 people and only five people call me, but it’s five lock-solid clients, that’s not necessarily a failure. I wouldn’t focus on the 995 people that didn’t respond to my mail. I’m thinking about the five that did. Really concentrate on how you talk to yourself.
You write it down and you sell it to yourself. You repeat it. “I can do this.”
Remember: Being New is O.K.
It’s okay to be new. Remember, we are talking about your first 30 days in real estate here! Get your mind right. Understand that this business is not supposed to be easy, but the first 30, 60, 90 days are the hardest part. It gets better. It gets easier in some ways. Once you start swimming in clients, you’ll have a whole mess of new problems that come along with success. Good problems, bad problems, really just different problems. More importantly, you’ll experience more success and more of the good stuff if you take the advice here and apply it to your life. You’ve got to remember this real estate thing is new to you. Don’t expect to be an overnight success. It might take a little bit of time. Be patient, be confident, and be prepared to work hard.
By the way, if you would like to watch the full video where Chris explains all of this just click right here!